They say the best camera is the one you have with you. If we use the same analogy, and place it in the audio sphere then it’s pretty safe to say that the best earbuds are that of the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds for Xbox.
We don’t see a single reason why these remarkable earbuds shouldn’t be your headset of choice – no matter how you game or consume audio.
I’ve long been a fan of SteelSeries headsets, loving various over-ear can designs, like that of the Arctis Nova 7X Wireless and Arctis Nova Pro. But for as good as those headsets are, I think SteelSeries’ foray into the earbuds market ups everything that has come before it. The SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds sound brilliant, come with tons of charge (40 hours), work across multiple formats, and are extremely pocketable. The best headset is that which you have with you, yes?
Bundled in a neat little case, pill in shape, Qi Wireless and USB-C compatible for charging, and easy to stash away, the Arctis GameBuds themselves slip in nicely, running as fairly small, stem-less buds. They look very much like some of our previous favourite buds, in the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrids, but up those in a number of ways.
Firstly, they fit our ears brilliantly, simply placed and then never moving from their socket, we’ve found the fitment of the GameBuds to be, in a word, perfect. Of course, that’s possibly the most personal thing we’ve ever written, and there’s a chance these may not fit you quite so well, but for us, they are right up there with some professional grade buds like the Audeze Euclid. However, SteelSeries are happy to promote the fact that they’ve scanned some 62,000 ears in the process of creating these, and so there’s an extremely high chance that they’ll fit your lug holes too. You’ll want that fit to work too, as the GameBuds come with in-ear detection, knowing when they are in place, or not.
With various size silicone fitments (small, medium, large) ready to be pushed onto the buds, the seal that they give is equally as good. Tight but comfortable, is how we would describe things here, and that’s been shown across multiple hours of use. We’ve pretty much worn these for the best part of a whole day without once considering their removal.
And when in place, they are extremely simple to control – at least once you get past the fact that these buds have physical buttons on their exteriors, not – as we initially suspected – touch pads. We have no qualms in admitting that initial set-up of the GameBuds took longer than we would have liked, constantly ‘tapping’ the buds instead of ‘pressing’ the buttons. Perhaps that says more about us than the GameBuds themselves, and the sheer number of buds we’ve used over the years have brainwashed us to a more touch-sensitive way of life. But once you understand the need to properly click in the buttons, all is good in the world.
These buttons (one on each) are easy to reach for and interact with, complete with the usual volume and on-ear controls covering a range of features. You’ll know the type if you’ve ever used a pair of buds before, with single presses, double and triple hits, press and hold and more controlling the audio that comes in. Each of those controls can be amended through the brilliant Arctis mobile App too, and we’ve found some real joy in using the Android version of this. It’s also great for keeping track of exact battery levels with both buds and the case itself listed at a moment’s glance.
Further, that App also allows you to set a range of equaliser options, with nearly 200 presets in place, all set for your favourite games like Rocket League, World of Tanks, Skull & Bones, Valorant and more. We can’t comment so much on whether each of these are perfectly set for the games mentioned, but instead we’ve mostly found ourselves settling on one or two different EQ settings during our testing phase. Of course, there’s absolutely nothing to stop you from switching things up on the fly as you see fit. It’s here where you can really dial the sounds in on the GameBuds, but with this being a SteelSeries product, the 360° Spatial Audio delivered to your ears is about as good as you are likely to get, with hardly an ounce of muddiness or lag ever popping up.
With mics included for times of need, and zero complaints from others in terms of the audio and speech from this end, the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds really are complete for multiple jobs, whether it be music and podcast listening, calls or gaming. Obviously, the usual Bluetooth compatibility allows us to make the most of the sounds we need when gaming on mobile, through Game Pass, enjoying the GameSir X4 Aileron Controller most recently.
But the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds can also be used with an Xbox console. And that means we are struggling to see a better audio option, no matter what the need. That console connection is done by the immediacy of a USB-C dongle.
Connecting to the front of your Xbox Series X|S via the USB-A port and included A-C cable, the tiny dongle included in the Xbox edition of the GameBuds (stowable in the bud case) has been good for our gaming needs. In fact, the only letdown has been the occasional dropping of initial connection and the requirement of a simple unplug and replug to console. Aside from that, it’s been a cinch to swap between Bluetooth and wireless 2.4Ghz mode, set through a triple push of the right bud.
For us, that is one of two main controls that we’ve reached for above all else; the switch between Bluetooth connection and wireless to a USB dongle, and then the turning on/off of ANC. And honestly, the ANC (active noise cancellation) found on the GameBuds is superb, easily allowing you to switch off from the world when need be, with a simple left bud tap opening up transparency when required. Remember when we said we’d been wearing the GameBuds for the day? Yep, that ANC switch comes into its own there.
It’s safe to say that we love the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds for Xbox. In a world in which there are hundreds, probably thousands, of gaming audio options available to players, we’re not sure that many will be able to top what has been created here. Yes, you may prefer over-ear cans, and we certainly won’t be throwing our glorious Audeze Maxwell’s away anytime soon, but for ease of use, brilliant sound and simple multi-format opportunities, the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds for Xbox lead the way.
Buy yourself some right now. Without hesitation.
You can purchase the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds for Xbox from SteelSeries direct. There are also listings on Amazon. Expect to pay around £160 or so.
